Here is Marcia's story:

I’ve had a serious stomach disease for years, and it’s required multiple surgeries, but until last April 2025, I was able to work. Until I couldn’t. My health deteriorated to the point where I had unbearable nausea 24 hours a day and would throw up 20 times a day.

By August, I had lost 40 pounds and was down to 124. My body was eating itself, and I was literally starving to death. My doctor was stumped; he had no clue what else to try.

I’d been trying to get into UT Southwestern, which has the specialists I needed, but there was a 10-month wait list. Finally, my digestive doctor determined I would not survive that long, which was scary to hear, but serious enough to get me accepted by the chief of bariatric surgery at UT.

I was diagnosed with gastroparesis and Ileus (paralyzed stomach and intestines). To keep me alive, a feeding tube was inserted through my nose, which was painful and annoying but unavoidable.

The months of enduring the feeding tube were difficult and painful, as was the realization that I was never going to be able to work again, as I would need to be hooked up to a feeding tube 16 hours a day.

Finally, the day came when I thought things would get a little easier. The feeding tube was removed from my nose and inserted into a permanent port in my tummy.

While this was supposed to be a simple 30-minute procedure, it turned into a 5-hour major surgery where I was cut completely open. Despite the dozens of scans, scopes, x-rays, and ultrasounds, they could not figure out what was going on.

Then came a blessing. Using the laparoscope camera through the J-tube, the surgeon found three large hernias in my small intestine, which were blocking everything. I was later told that if these had not been treated, I would not be alive today.

Since that surgery, I’ve had ongoing, unsolvable issues. The tube’s insertion leaks stomach acid to the degree that I have to change the dressing four times a hour. My skin is burned and raw, keeping me in constant pain. I’ve been bedridden since August except for small outings, which I do well at; but it takes everything out of me, requiring extensive rest.

I have been back to my surgeon four times, and a wound specialist, and until my insurance ran out just when I was supposed to have CAT scans every three months. To date, no one has come up with a solution to get the wound to heal and stop leaking.

On top of the health issues, my job as editor of Screen Printing and The Big Picture magazines was eliminated due to a reorganization; however, I would have had to go on permanent medical leave anyway, as I will be connected to a feeding tube for the rest of my life.

Reality has now set in, leaving me with unresolved serious medical issues that I have no means to get treatment for. With my termination, I lost my health insurance, and while I have applied for Medicaid, that is a long, drawn-out process, leaving me in the lurch while I wait to hear about my application. I can’t afford the COBRA payments to extend my work insurance. I have also applied for disability, but have been told that it can take up to a year.

I’ve had numerous people suggest a fundraiser, and I have prayed and struggled for months over whether or not I should do this. But the truth is, when my unemployment ends in June, I will have no incoming money until I begin getting disability. Thankfully, my kids have given me a home.

Any money raised will go to medical expenses. I don’t know how long I will have to wait to get government assistance, but in the meantime, I suffer every day, and I am unable to get any medical treatment.

I am determined to stay positive and take one day at a time. It’s been a very difficult journey, but the support of my friends and family has made it bearable. Thanks to all of you for all your comments and prayers. It means the world to me. I am in a bad spot right now, but I refuse to give up hope that things are going to get better.